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June 06
Contact Watford CVS
by  Bob JonesNo presence information  on 06/06/2011 17:15
Category: About / Contact

​Watford Council for Voluntary Service
Holywell Community Centre
Chaffinch Lane
Tolpits Lane
Watford
Herts
WD18 9QD

 

​Contact ​Designation ​Telephone ​E-mail
​ ​
​Main Line ​ ​01923 216950 ​holywell@mywatford.net
​Tasha Hiscock ​Centre Manager ​01923 216950 ​tashahiscock@mywatford.net
​Sandra Galloway ​Centre manager ​01923 216950 ​sandragalloway@mywatford.net
​Sandra Fullerton ​Development and Training Officer ​01923 216951 ​sandrafullerton@mywatford.net
Andrew Devoy  ​Community Accountant ​01923 216952 ​andrewdevoy@mywatford.net
Anne Boyd​ ​Funding Advisor ​01923 216954 ​anneboyd@mywatford.net
Laura Packwood​ ​Voluntary Transport Co-ordinator ​01923 216955 ​laurapackwood@mywatford.net
Cheryl McMurray​ ​Time Bank and Volunteering Co-ordinator ​01923 216956

​ cherylmcmurray@mywatford.net

Nicky Fawcett​ ​ Voluntary Sector Resilience Officer ​01923 216950 ​nickyfawcett@mywatford.net
Bob Jones​ ​CEO ​01923 216966 ​bobjones@mywatford.net
​ ​
 

 


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June 10
Introducing Watford CVS
by  MYWATFORD\AdministratorNo presence information  on 10/06/2010 12:30
Category: About / Contact

Mywatford.net is the main public website of the Watford Council for Voluntary Service, more often known as Watford CVS. Watford CVS is an independent local charity (registration number 1085518) incorporated in England as a company limited by guarantee (4090701). 

Our aim is that Watford CVS will lead an outstanding local voluntary sector that is valued by a prosperous, vibrant, diverse and successful community. In pursuing this vision, our mission is: strengthening Watford’s voluntary sector through leadership, support, advice and example.

We are a membership organisation of around 200 local voluntary and community groups. To find out more about Watford CVS membership, please click here.

We manage our activities under four broad headings:

·         Supporting local groups

·         Promoting community activity

·         Providing public services

·         Providing community facilities

You can learn more about our activities by using the links on the left.

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June 09
Join Watford CVS
by  MYWATFORD\AdministratorNo presence information  on 09/06/2010 15:02
Category: About / Contact

If you are a not-for-profit group working for the benefit of the people of Watford, it costs nothing to join Watford CVS.

Member organisations must undertake that they:

  • Will improve their performance by adopting appropriate quality standards for our governance, management and activities.
  • Value diversity and will adopt appropriate policies to promote equal opportunities and tackle barriers to participation.
  • Strengthen the voluntary sector by sharing information, skills and resources with other voluntary organisations and will support the Watford Compact, the Hertfordshire Compact and the national Compact.
  • Provide Watford CVS with a copy of their annual report and accounts and an invitation to their AGM.
  • Ask Watford CVS to represent them on local decision-making bodies such as the One Watford Local Strategic Partnership and will make their views adn needs known to Watford CVS through discussions and consultations.
  • Authorise Watford CVS to promote their details to the public and understand that Watford CVS will share these details with Herts CVS and with Watford CVS’s funders.
  • In the event that Watford CVS is wound up with insufficient assets to meet its liabilities, will contribute to these liabilities a sum not exceeding £5.

Simple? Should any potential members have any questions, they should contact bobjones@mywatford.net or call 01923 216950.

Membership forms are attached in two formats. The PDF version can be printed off and completed by hand. The Microsoft Word form can be completed and returned by e-mail to enquiries@mywatford.net. When downloading either form, you may be asked to enter a password - just click "cancel" and the form will download to your computer.

WCVS Membership form.pdfWCVS Membership form.pdfWCVS Membership form.docWCVS Membership form.doc

 

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June 08
Watford Borough Council core CVS funding
by  MYWATFORD\AdministratorNo presence information  on 08/06/2010 16:52

Approx value: £100,000 pa
Project started: 1973
Current funding situation: Watford CVS and Watford Borough Council are discussing terms for a new three year Service Level Agreement to run from July 2010.

 

WBC logo

 

Watford CVS’s achievements and successes are underpinned first and foremost by our core funding agreement with Watford Borough Council.

Under this funding agreement, Watford CVS has resources to:

·         identify new and emerging needs and work for new services to meet those needs;

·         support local voluntary organisations and community groups to function more effectively and deliver better quality services;

·         secure good communication within the voluntary sector, promoting networking and collaboration;

·         enable the effective representation of the local voluntary sector, both through CVS and through groups being supported to represent themselves and their communities;

·         make sure that the voluntary sector is an integral part of local planning and policy making.

 

This core funding from Watford Borough Council supports:

·         Bob Jones – Chief Executive Officer

·         Maria Waszkis – Operations Manager

·         Anne Boyd – Funding Advisor

 

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June 07
Fit for Purpose
by  MYWATFORD\AdministratorNo presence information  on 07/06/2010 16:21

 

Approx value: £50,000 pa
Project started: 2008
Current funding situation: National Lottery funding is secured for the period April 2008 to March 2013.

 

BIG Lottery Fund logo

 

The BIG Lottery Fund ran two stages of a programme called BASIS that was designed to target funding on organisations providing support to local voluntary organisations. Watford CVS was successful in the first bidding round and our project began in April 2008.

 

The project is match-funded with monies received from Watford Borough Council and elsewhere and requires CVS to produce many outputs and outcomes including:

·         Developing strategies and documents

·         Providing funding advice

·         Providing training courses for local voluntary groups

·         Providing advice on bookkeeping and accountancy

·         Providing guidance on quality assurance

 

The project directly funds:

·         Vanessa Levy – Development and Training Officer

·         Syed Ahmed – Community Accountant

 

 

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June 06
Watford Community Assembly and Resource Centre
by  MYWATFORD\AdministratorNo presence information  on 06/06/2010 17:29

Approx value: £150,000 over two years
Project started: 2010
Current funding situation: The Resource Centre is now up and running and offers local voluntary groups free access to IT and a modern working environment. Faced with a near 50% cut in funding from central Government, the One Watford Local Strategic Partnership very reluctantly ended funding for the Community Assembly in October 2010. 

 

One Watford logo

 

 This is a project to create a Community Assembly in Watford to ensure that everyone in Watford has access to a community group to represent their needs and interests, and that these groups have a way of influencing local decisions.

 

The project includes funding for:

·         the creation of a new sub group of One Watford to provide oversight to issues related to engagement and volunteering;

·         a new strategic Community Development Worker;

·         training for community representatives;

·         new community groups to be supported;

·         a community resource centre to provide office support to new and established groups.

 

Watford CVS staff supported by this funding are:

·         Martin Renshaw – Community Development Worker

·         Kerry Assell – project administrator

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June 03
Watford Time Bank
by  MYWATFORD\AdministratorNo presence information  on 03/06/2010 17:11

Approx value: £25,000 pa
Project started: 2010
Current funding situation: A two year funding agreement is in place with HCC Adult Care Services.

 

HCC logo                    Time Bank logo   

 

This funding is to create a Time Bank in Watford with activities specifically designed to engage people who are at risk of becoming dependent on health or adult care services. Engagement in the community strengthens people’s independence, and where support needs arise it is sometimes possible for these to be met within the Timebank.

 

This is a pilot project and a parallel pilot project is underway in North Herts. There are complex targets and outcomes related to measurements of confidence and independence. If the project reaches its targets, it will demonstrate that it more than meets its costs through savings secured on “traditional” health and adult care budgets. The project may then secure long-term funding.

 

Meanwhile the project part-funds:

·         Beth Kennedy – Time Bank co-ordinator

·         Kerry Assell – Time Bank administrator

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June 02
Youth Connexions Personal Advisors (project ended Dec 2010)
by  MYWATFORD\AdministratorNo presence information  on 02/06/2010 12:38

Funding: approx £85,000 pa from Hertfordshire Youth Connexions
Project started: 2006
Current funding situation: Although acknowledging the success of the project, Youth Connexions faced serious budget problems and had to discountinued funding for this project at the end of December 2010. Our best wishes go to past staff and clients of the project.

 

youth Connexions logo

 

Supported by Aim Higher funding arriving via Hertfordshire Youth Connexions, Watford CVS began employing Personal Advisors when Watford Race Equality Council closed in November 2006. Under our contract with Youth Connexions, we employ three Personal Advisors (2.5 FTE) to work specifically with young people from the Muslim, African Caribbean and Mixed Heritage backgrounds.

All young people are entitled to a Personal Advisor who is:

  • professional and knowledgeable;
  • relaxed and easy to talk to;
  • non-judgmental and a good listener;
  • able to provide support and impartial advice.

Many young people can most easily build relationships with Personal Advisors drawn from their own communities as their issues and concerns are more easily understood.  

Each PA carries a caseload of 21-25 clients. Specific partnership agreements are in place with Bushey Hall, Queens and Westfield schools. Recent clients have also come from: Beaumont, Bushey Meads, Francis Bacon, Francis Combe, Townsend, Verulam schools, from Dacorum and Oaklands colleges, and from many community groups.

  • Des Reid works in Watford with young people from the African Caribbean community (including young people of mixed heritage) mostly drawn from Bushey Hall, Bushey Meads and Queens schools.
  • Farzana Khan works in Watford with young people from the Muslim community mostly drawn from Bushey Hall, Queens and Westfield schools.
  • Saud Hafiz works in Dacorum and St Albans with young people from the Muslim community. Saud is not assigned to any particular school(s), taking referrals from schools and from the community.

 

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June 01
Herts BME Advocacy Service
by  MYWATFORD\AdministratorNo presence information  on 01/06/2010 13:24

Funding: approx £40,000 pa from HCC Children, Schools and Families
Project started: 2008
Current funding situation: With WCVS support, this project transferred to Pohwer in the autumn of 2010. The project can be contacted on 0300 456 2370. 

 

HCC logo                    Advocacy Service logo

 

Local authorities routinely provide parents with information, support and advice. In the overwhelming majority of instances, this works well and parents and carers are guided to make the right choices for their children. But sometimes, this relationship breaks down.

 

A complaint may include complex issues around racism. The education and well-being of the child (or children) suffer, tensions grow, and the situation deteriorates daily. Parents will feel angry and frustrated. When parents want to register a complaint about a school, the local authority still owes a duty of care to the parents but its primary legal obligation is to support and advise the school.

 

Where, then, can families gain access to specialised, informed and dedicated support?

 

Hertfordshire County Council, in consultation with the County’s Minority Ethnic Education Forum, decided that black and minority ethnic parents should receive support through an independent BME advocacy service. Watford CVS was awarded the contract to do this, and the Herts BME Advocacy Service has been operating since April 2008.

 

The Contract states: The Service will provide advice, support, and representation for parents / carers / children to raise and resolve their concerns about institutional racism and incidents of racist or religious hatred/discrimination within any educational setting / support service in Hertfordshire.

The Service is delivered by Watford CVS staff who are passionate about equality, who have learnt something of the needs of young people from BME backgrounds, and who have seen what can happen when these needs are not addressed:

·         Hema Devlukia – advocate

·         Alan Felt – service assistant

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May 30
Holywell Community Centre
by  MYWATFORD\AdministratorNo presence information  on 30/05/2010 17:40

Approx value: £100,000 pa
Project to start: August 2010
Current funding situation: Funding arrangements have now been finalised and Watford CVS's relocation to the Community Centre was completed in August 2010. 

 

Watford CVS manages the Holywell Community Centre on behalf of the Holywell community, as well as providing a well-resourced community resource centre for voluntary groups across Watford.

 

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